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| What are the most disturbing novels? | What are the most disturbing novels? |
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| While we often discuss lovely, life-affirming quotes and sweetly memorable scenes in books, reader slovenia46 recently suggested we talked about the grim. We did a quick sweep of the books desk – and here are some of our most disturbing reads, and some that our readers came up with on this week’s Tips, Links and Suggestions blog. What is yours? Add it in the comments below, and we’ll include a selection in the piece. | While we often discuss lovely, life-affirming quotes and sweetly memorable scenes in books, reader slovenia46 recently suggested we talked about the grim. We did a quick sweep of the books desk – and here are some of our most disturbing reads, and some that our readers came up with on this week’s Tips, Links and Suggestions blog. What is yours? Add it in the comments below, and we’ll include a selection in the piece. |
| Naked Lunch by William S Burroughs (1959) | Naked Lunch by William S Burroughs (1959) |
| “I can’t remember how I came into possession of a copy of Naked Lunch in my teens but it so horrified me that it’s the only book I have actually, physically destroyed. I still remember the waves of nausea provoked by the the molestation of boys in Hassan’s Rumpus Room: “‘No, no!’ screams the boy. ‘Yes. Yes.’ Cocks ejaculate in silent ‘yes’. (it gets worse). | “I can’t remember how I came into possession of a copy of Naked Lunch in my teens but it so horrified me that it’s the only book I have actually, physically destroyed. I still remember the waves of nausea provoked by the the molestation of boys in Hassan’s Rumpus Room: “‘No, no!’ screams the boy. ‘Yes. Yes.’ Cocks ejaculate in silent ‘yes’. (it gets worse). |
| “In the 1966 trial that cleared the book of obscenity, Gore Vidal argued: “Just as Hieronymus Bosch set down the most diabolical and blood-curdling details with a delicacy of line and a Puckish humor which left one with a sense of the mansions of horror attendant upon Hell, so, too, does Burroughs leave you with an intimate, detailed vision of what Hell might be like, a Hell which may be waiting as the culmination, the final product, of the scientific revolution.” Yes, yes, the adult me assents. “No, no,” screams the teenager.” —Books editor Claire Armitstead | “In the 1966 trial that cleared the book of obscenity, Gore Vidal argued: “Just as Hieronymus Bosch set down the most diabolical and blood-curdling details with a delicacy of line and a Puckish humor which left one with a sense of the mansions of horror attendant upon Hell, so, too, does Burroughs leave you with an intimate, detailed vision of what Hell might be like, a Hell which may be waiting as the culmination, the final product, of the scientific revolution.” Yes, yes, the adult me assents. “No, no,” screams the teenager.” —Books editor Claire Armitstead |
| Notes on a Scandal by Zoë Heller (2003) | Notes on a Scandal by Zoë Heller (2003) |
| “Novels that invite you inside the minds of dangerous obsessives, unaware of their own toxic natures, always leave me very unsettled when done well. I wasn’t expecting that the narrator of Zoe Heller’s Notes on a Scandal to be quite as malign as she is, and the hatred lurking inside what she thinks is love for her beautiful young teacher colleague left me rattled for days.” —Lindesay Irvine | “Novels that invite you inside the minds of dangerous obsessives, unaware of their own toxic natures, always leave me very unsettled when done well. I wasn’t expecting that the narrator of Zoe Heller’s Notes on a Scandal to be quite as malign as she is, and the hatred lurking inside what she thinks is love for her beautiful young teacher colleague left me rattled for days.” —Lindesay Irvine |
| The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami (1994) | The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami (1994) |
| “It is not what one expects when reading a Murakami novel – no cats, pasta, music, or dreams here – instead you are abruptly in a horrifically detailed torture scene. The shock factor makes even worse the impact of a painfully slow and thorough account of the murder of a Japanese soldier in Mongolia during the second Sino-Japanese war, told in one of the flashbacks that abound in the book. To this day, I find it difficult to think of that novel without getting the chills.” —Marta Bausells | “It is not what one expects when reading a Murakami novel – no cats, pasta, music, or dreams here – instead you are abruptly in a horrifically detailed torture scene. The shock factor makes even worse the impact of a painfully slow and thorough account of the murder of a Japanese soldier in Mongolia during the second Sino-Japanese war, told in one of the flashbacks that abound in the book. To this day, I find it difficult to think of that novel without getting the chills.” —Marta Bausells |
| @GuardianBooks I'd place '1Q84' right up next to 'The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle'. Two words: Little People. | @GuardianBooks I'd place '1Q84' right up next to 'The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle'. Two words: Little People. |
| American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis (1991) | American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis (1991) |
| “For me it’s American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis – I read it two years ago and I’m still haunted by certain passages …” —judgeDAmNation | “For me it’s American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis – I read it two years ago and I’m still haunted by certain passages …” —judgeDAmNation |
| “I’d agree and take it further – anything by Easton Ellis. Whenever I finished one of his books, I just felt horrible for days.” —BaddHamster | “I’d agree and take it further – anything by Easton Ellis. Whenever I finished one of his books, I just felt horrible for days.” —BaddHamster |
| Leah Holroyd concurs: | Leah Holroyd concurs: |
| Glad it's not just me haunted by American Psycho. Still have nightmares. Tip: Don't read if you've just started online dating @GuardianBooks | Glad it's not just me haunted by American Psycho. Still have nightmares. Tip: Don't read if you've just started online dating @GuardianBooks |
| City of God by Paulo Lins (1997) | City of God by Paulo Lins (1997) |
| “Not the whole book, but there is a passage where one character kills his child to get back at his girlfriend. This is described in excruciating and gory detail which I won’t go into here, and stayed with me for weeks. I’m sure it’s not unusual to say that I find the death of children in novels to be particularly powerful and devastating.” —Oranje14 | “Not the whole book, but there is a passage where one character kills his child to get back at his girlfriend. This is described in excruciating and gory detail which I won’t go into here, and stayed with me for weeks. I’m sure it’s not unusual to say that I find the death of children in novels to be particularly powerful and devastating.” —Oranje14 |
| Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy (1985) | Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy (1985) |
| “Blood Meridian is pretty disturbing, even for McCarthy.” —woodstok | “Blood Meridian is pretty disturbing, even for McCarthy.” —woodstok |
| “I found Blood Meridian to be violence pornography – one, long waterfall of blood cascading down the page.” —conedison | “I found Blood Meridian to be violence pornography – one, long waterfall of blood cascading down the page.” —conedison |
| Kisscut by Karin Slaughter (2011) | Kisscut by Karin Slaughter (2011) |
| “There’s a Karin Slaughter book about paedophilia that I mistakenly picked up as a light criminal/cop-type read some years ago. It was so unpleasant that I couldn’t even bring myself to give it to a charity shop and ended up putting it in the bin.” —deltajones | “There’s a Karin Slaughter book about paedophilia that I mistakenly picked up as a light criminal/cop-type read some years ago. It was so unpleasant that I couldn’t even bring myself to give it to a charity shop and ended up putting it in the bin.” —deltajones |
| What Is the What by Dave Eggers (2006) | What Is the What by Dave Eggers (2006) |
| “Because it’s true. The truth is always more disturbing than fiction.” —FunkBrother69 | “Because it’s true. The truth is always more disturbing than fiction.” —FunkBrother69 |
| The Wasp Factory by Iain Banks (1984) | |
| “Certain passages throughout the book are incredibly disturbing. This is a dark, dark story, both in terms of theme, and its graphic depiction of murder (among other things).” —Matt Brown | |
| Oryx & Crake by Margaret Atwood (2003) | |
| “Margaret Atwood’s Oryx & Crake still invades my dreams from time to time. What a nightmarish vision of the future. In fact, it terrifies me so that I can’t bring myself to start the second novel in the trilogy, The Year of the Flood.” —mlrb | |
| Share yours in the comments below, and we’ll include a selection in the piece. | Share yours in the comments below, and we’ll include a selection in the piece. |